a journal of finding good food and restaurants i love to eat in Taipei when I'm not in Los Angeles. looking forward to hearing from other food lovers about where your favorite places to eat are, so i can try them next!

[TAIPEI- XINYI] SO MUCH HAS CHANGED SINCE I STARTED BLOGGING 12 years ago. I used to take photos with my pocket Canon, upload them to my laptop and then upload to blogger and then tinker around with the html, type and post. But now even though taking and editing beautiful photos is easier and faster, it hasn't made blogging any easier.

The app I used to use "Blogger" has slowed down as iPhones got faster and is now no longer in the app store. But then the blogger app started to upload the photos in a lower resolution sometimes AND crashed when I type more than a few letters. But since the app is no longer in the app store, it longer has any technical support and I couldn't download it to my new phone. So in order to upload pics from my new phone to my old phone, I had to airdrop them.That's why I was posting so infrequently on the blog because it would take FOREVER to do.

BUT today I had an epiphany. I could airdrop photos to my desktop (because my laptop's hard drive is full as is my iCloud) and then do it the old school way, upload to blogger and type and post from there.

SO here it is, a new post!

Liquid Bread Company is sandwich shop founded by the owners of Purebread Bakery and Gen Creative earlier this year, located in the quiet alley behind the Xinyi and Guangfu intersection. Those craving American style sandwiches in Taipei don't have a lot of choices, so the founders of Liquid Bread Co saw on opportunity to offer the sandwiches they wanted to eat themselves with higher quality ingredients made almost entirely in house.

Liquid Bread Co's partner Jim says, LBC was "the natural progression of a bread shop, the wanting of showing how sourdough is used, in addition to missing a well put together sandwich."

The menu includes classic sandwiches like pastrami, BLT, tuna melt as well as creations that give a nod to Gen Creative's chefs' heritages like carnitas, spicy pork belly, Taipei Bomber, which is a ham and cheese sandwich with egg salad added in.

Every month, there is also a collaboration with a guest chef to offer a limited edition sandwich. This month, it's with Le Blanc's Chef Long Xiong and (regretfully) Le Roast Beast was sold out the day that I went. (I will have to go back before the month's end to try it!)

The menu board on the wall is only in Chinese, but there is a paper menu with English sandwich names and ingredients. It is a bit tough to match up prices to the sandwiches if you don't read Chinese since the prices are only on the menu board, but they range about NT$290-420 and half sandwiches are available.

Side dishes include housemade soup of the day,pickled broccoli slaw, potato salad, egg salad and packaged chips like Doritos. A variety of craft beer is also available to down with your meal. Service is self serve, meaning that you grab your own food, pay at the counter and then bus your table afterwards.

The roasted tomato soup (NT$90) comes with two small pieces of bread, which I used with the egg salad to make a mini toast. It would pair perfectly with cheesy bites and I used it to dip my tuna melt. Since it's more on the sour side than sweet, I wouldn't be able to finish off a bowl on its own, but paired with a sandwich, the creamy tartness is a great complement to each other. You could create your own soup and half sandwich combo, though it would be nice if they could offer a price break on the soup if you added it on.

After trying almost every sandwich on the menu (thanks to Liquid Bread Co), which were my favourites? I was expecting it to be carnitas since that's the sandwich I had heard raves about on Instagram, but they were out of carnitas that day. Booooooo.

So I was actually surprised by how much I liked the BLT (NT$290). The thick slice of Sedor Farms bacon was crispy yet juicy, and perfect with the crisp lettuce and tomato. I typically wouldn't order BLT, but the owner Jim insisted I try it. It would be even better with some avocado slices, (BLAT? ABLT? BLTA?), but on its own it's a refreshing bite with the addictive tomato jam.

The pastrami sandwich (NT$420) was a nice stack, with provolone cheese, house prepared mustard and zucchini pickles. I liked it a lot, though the kind of pastrami I usually crave is the juicy, jus soaked heaps of thinly sliced pastrami like what you would find in LA at Johnnie's Pastrami or the Hat, rather than the traditional deli style pastrami on rye.

Made with mozzarella, gouda and parmesan, the cheesy bites (NT$180) were super buttery and cheesy, like a grilled cheese cut into quarters for bite sized enjoyment (or dipping in tomato soup).

The tuna salad and the tuna melt sandwich are both priced at NT$290, and the tuna is made from fresh tuna for the tuna salad.

And in my video making, I only got video and not a photo of the Pork Belly sandwich (NT$290), which was really hearty with three slabs of spicy pork belly in each half, pickles and cabbage slaw on a soft dinner roll. The meat wasn't as fatty as I expected and since I didn't have room to eat it at lunch, I had it for dinner and it held up pretty well as leftovers. With so much meat, this sandwich is definitely the most bang for your buck, and an underrated AND filling sandwich where carnitas and pastrami get all the hype.

And last but not least, the junk cookie with chocolate chips, marshmallow, oreo and peanuts. It's that kind of crispy chewy cookie that is hard to find, but not as monster sized or gooey as the cookies from DPT Coffee.

Before I went to Liquid Bread, I had heard a lot of people say, "the sandwiches are really good, but it's on the expensive side." I can't say that I disagree, as the prices for the sandwiches average about NT$290 and that's without any included sides or soup, but that they are serving some of the best sandwiches in Taipei right now and if you love sandwiches, then it's worth it to fill that craving- they taste just like a sandwiches you would get in the states.

The day that I went, almost all the other customers included expats or people speaking English and I wonder if the market for sandwich lovers is big enough for them. It will be a bit of a hurdle because I consider myself in their customer demographic and even I find it a bit expensive to pay US$10 for a BLT or US$13 for a pastrami sandwich since I often do make sandwiches myself at home. I would definitely recommend Liquid Bread to my friends and you guys, so I was on the borderline of whether to strongly recommend or recommend them, taking price into consideration.

When I posted the picture of the pastrami sandwich to my Facebook page- multiple people excitedly asked where? So good food will get people excited, but how many others are like us? That's seems to be the topic of discussion for a lot of the restaurants I've been trying lately- trying to offer something that's different for Taipei in the style of what's popular in the US with quality ingredients, but can they compete despite the higher price point?

Monday, November 13, 2017

[TAIPEI- DAAN] One Michelin star Chef Matthieu De Lauzun from Montpelier, France popped up in Taipei from 11/9 - 11/12 at Orchid Restaurant 蘭 using local vegetables and focusing on seafood.

My favorite dish of the tasting menu was the poivron farci, or stuffed pepper. The sweet roasted red pepper was stuffed with fresh crab and the squid was presented two ways, as "noodles" atop and fried.

This is Chef Matthieu's first time to Taipei. I got a chance to chat with him a little and he said he really thought the local ingredients were great so he tried to use as many vegetables and seafood locally. He also has had a chance to enjoy local eats, one of his favorites being the pepper bun from the night market. (Mine too! Can't miss it when visiting!)

With Michelin Guide coming in 2018, it's great Michelin starred chefs can collaborate with local talent and Taipei diners can also get a taste of what's already ranked as Michelin-worthy around the world. Thanks Orchid for the invitation and for continuing to discover and bring guest chefs to Taiwan.

my weakness - bread and butter

saumon sauvage

the DIY version would be a tortilla rolled up with smoked salmon and cream cheese. or maybe i've been watching too many buzzfeed videos.

Poivron farci

Roasting the red bell pepper brought out a sweetness that was almost fruity that matched the sea sweetness of the crab and squid, which were executed to the perfect texture. The lump crab is hiding underneath all of the "noodles." Loved this.

Bar (de pêche atlantique)

truffe blanche (de alba)

I also enjoyed the truffle risotto with the perfect egg, the yolk in limbo between solid and liquid.

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

If you're like me, you've often thought about taking a day trip to another city in Taiwan, but end up putting it off. Where would I go? What would I eat? How much trouble would it be? So when I was invited by a representative for the Tainan City Government to explore some of their English Friendly restaurants, I took it as a challenge to pack as much as I could in one day. It helped that I had a ready made short list to check out. All I had to do was map it out and figure out what made sense according to their location and opening hours. Tainan has often been touted as the Taiwan's oldest city and an equally delicious and historic city to visit as Taipei, with plenty of temples, street eats and museums to visit. The past few years Tainan City Government has created an initiative for businesses to be more English Friendly, creating menus and resources for people who don't read Chinese to be able to discover and patronize these places. All the places I visited did have English menus, and most of them were able to explain menu options or answer questions in English. If you had asked me where to eat and go in Tainan a year ago, I would have had no idea. Last year was the first time I went to Tainan despite living in Taiwan for over a dozen years. This last visit was only my third. And even though I feel like there's a lot more for me to explore, I know if you followed my itinerary for this visit, you would be a pretty happy and full visitor.

9AM BUYING TICKETS TO THE HIGH SPEED RAIL IS EASY

I enter the West Gate of the Taipei Main Station and look for the vending machines along the right side, not too far from the entrance. There's several machines that take cash or credit card and it's easy to choose "English" as a language options and buy a ticket, even last minute. There are unreserved and reserved seats, as well a business class option for a premium. For weekends, it's best to get your tickets in advance. I've checked the schedule ahead of time at the website, so I quickly click through the screens. Travelers can also get tickets from the high speed rail (HSR) app or at a ticket counter. I prefer to get it from the vending machine so I can see all the departure time options and usually there isn't a line.

With my ticket in hand, I look at the signs for the train. It's a weekday morning, so the train station isn't too crowded yet. It's similar to the train stations I've been to in Italy and Japan, except that buying tickets is very English friendly with the vending machines. The trains leave very promptly so I head to the train level for my 9:21AM train with plenty of time to spare.

The HSR trains have restrooms, vending machines and sometimes the vendors have snacks and bento boxes during meal times. I end up getting assigned Car #1 and the Economy reserved is not full. I spy a phone charger outlet on the map in car #4 so I head over there wondering if I can get an empty seat, but it turns out the charger is in a phone booth like space, not at each seat. I decide it's not worth it to stand half my trip to charge my phone. The AC is very strong though, and even though I'm wearing a jacket I'm cold. I make mental notes to pack a scarf next time.

11AM TAINAN, HERE I COME

Two hours have sped by especially with a book and returning messages on my phone. When I arrive at the Tainan stop, the lush greenery opposite the train station is a welcome contrast to the metropolis in Taipei. I eye the lunch boxes for sale at the exit, but I know I have a full day of eating and I can't get distracted. For those that want to eat at the Tainan HSR station, there's a Mos burger, Starbucks, Mango cha cha and 7-11 to fit all your basic needs. There's a line of taxis waiting at exit 3 and I give the taxi driver the address to the first restaurant, which is about 20 minutes away from the HSR station. My iPhone battery at 52 percent already and the taxi driver is peppering me with questions in Taiwanese. We pass by the Chimei Museum, which you can't miss because it's inspired by Versailles, and I wonder if I should have made a stop there before going into town. Next visit!

11:30AM COMFORT FOODS AT A FARM TO TABLE CAFE

The first stop is Birches Pastoral, a cozy two story cafe opened just a few months ago by a farmer and his family to introduce some of their farms' organic products to customers, like red quinoa which they mix with their rice dishes like braised pork rice, Japanese chicken curry and onigiri. The Chinese name is a combination of his and his wife's Chinese name, while the English name is inspired by the idea that birch trees are friendly for the environment. Mr. Yu-Chung Cheng interacts with customers while his wife cooks up homestyle Taiwanese, Western and Japanese dishes like curry and udon, favorites from the time she studied in Japan. Besides featuring the farm's products on the menu, which include quinoa, mango, sesame and radishes, some are also available for purchase to cook at home or made into jams or sesame oil. Even though the cafe has been open only for a month, the first floor of this cafe was filled with customers, mostly from word of mouth. The owners made friendly conversations while the food tasted like home cooking. As Mr. Cheng shows me his farm's website (http://suidohomeland.com/), I spy links to TED Talks titled "what's wrong with our food system" and I can tell that Mr. Cheng has a lot of ideas and Birches is just the start of one of them.

So many dishes from the menu looked tempting, but I knew this was only the beginning of the day. I ended up trying some of their most popular dishes, the Japanese style Curry Rice Set (NT$249) which came with large pieces of deep fried chicken, and the Taiwanese Braised Pork Rice (NT$65) which is also a generously sized portion. Birches Pastoral opens early, so a tuna sandwich or egg salad sandwich would make a fitting breakfast if I were in the neighborhood.

The mango juice (NT$120) was thick and sweet, a refreshing drink while I was waiting for my meal.

Birches Pastoral's menu focuses on comfort foods- braised pork rice, onigiri and curry with fried chicken. The owner said they drained the oil from the lu rou fan to make it healthier, so this would be good for those who love this dish, but want a healthier option. My favorite was the Japanese curry + crispy kaarage- the chicken was so juicy and crispy and I couldn't stop eating it. The curry was a little spicy, but was the perfect pairing for the rice dotted with red quinoa and the fried chicken. I can't believe how much I've eaten 😂 and this was just the first stop.

1PM MILK TEA AND ICY DESSERT NEAR CONFUCIUS PARK

Phoenix Flower was the first to use the traditional "hollow cake" or peng bing, as an edible cup for soft serve. The idea came to owner Mr. Alan Lu three years ago when he thought about taking the hollow cake and reinventing it with a modern twist. Traditionally, they were filled with sesame oil and egg, flattened before serving, as a sweet and savory snack to women after they had given birth in one month confinement. Mr. Lu was friends with the owner of a popular pork bun shop that made the hollow cakes and they opened Phoenix Flower next door. Three years later, the dessert is featured in Japanese guidebooks and magazines. They usually have two flavors for soft serve, brown sugar or sesame, but over 10 flavors for the hollow cake including the original brown sugar, mango, strawberry and pizza. (I know! 🍕??). One of the difficulties with finding information about local foods is figuring out what to name it or research it in English, if there is no English menu or common name. While I don't think "hollow cake" is the right name, it's better than previous names for this pastry- which include hollow cookie, protruding cake,Tainan Brown Sugar Bun Cake, or Round-top Pastry. The Chinese name is a slightly better description, macaron hollow cake, which describes its flaky type texture. The lemon yogurt was a bit too sour/bitter for me, and he was sold out of the more popular flavor sesame, but it was neat to see this shop's modern take on a traditional pastry. Less of a cake and more of a cookie. (NT$70) The fairy milk black tea was good though and uses a popular Formosa black tea brand. Phoenix Flower is near the landmark Tainan Confucius Temple, so it's easy to check out both at the same time.

A post shared by Joan (@hungryintaipei) on Sep 25, 2017 at 10:14pm PDT

2PM THE OLDEST DEPARTMENT STORE IN TAINAN

Hayashi Department Store is a cool stop on the way to my next destination, with snacks, handcrafted goods and souvenirs from Taiwanese makers. The roof is also a popular spot for photos and to check out an aerial view of Tainan.

3PMLEARNING ABOUT TAIWANESE ORGANIC TEAS WITH A TEA CEREMONY

Loved the tea ceremony tasting at One 2 Teahouse which specializes in Taiwanese organic oolong teas. The owner Ms. Jenny Chen-Ni Chen was very knowledgeable and passionate about teas and able to answer a lot of my questions (in fluent English!). Being clueless about teas, I learned a lot in that short hour. Ms. Chen explained that, "different seasons will have different flavors. (Teas from) spring and winter are the best because the weather is very cold in Taiwan and the taste is more delicate because the tea leaves grows slowly. If it grows quickly, you have to harvest it in a short time." She and co-owner Ms. Ssu Ting Liu had fond memories of their grandfathers and fathers brewing and drinking tea everyday and wanted to introduce tea to their friends and share what they've learned.

Highly recommend making a reservation if you are curious or shopping for Taiwanese teas. The tea ceremony includes a tasting for three different types of teas, taking a journey from lighter to deeper flavors, and is complimentary if you purchase a tea. She warms the tea pot and cups with hot water first, to let the scent and taste come out and steeps the teas several times so that I can taste the difference.

The first tea I try is Lishan Oolong tea from Taichung, which has light fermentation and is grown in high altitudes. The notes say it's "full bodied with oriental pear notes and sweet aftertaste." The non roasted tea is very bright and lighter in flavor than the teas she chooses for me later. My favorite was the Dong Ding Oolong Tea from Kushan, Nantou, which is very aromatic from medium roasting. The last tea I try is the Sun Moon Lake Black Tea, which is completely fermented but not roasted.

They put so much thought into everything, from the detailed packaging where each tea has its own unique colors and pattern (which won a Red Dot Design Award) to going to the farms each season to inspect the quality of the tea leaves. Ms. Chen was super friendly and even gave me a recommendation for the bus back to the HSR (H31)! One2Teahouse's teas are also available to purchase online and shipping within Taiwan. The space is very modern and I wouldn't expect that there's a tea ceremony option by walking by, so this was one of the more unique things I've experienced. It was very quiet and the space upstairs would be perfect as a quiet working or studying space and there's also tea flavored ice cream and waffles if you're looking for afternoon tea snacks.

5PM THE BOWL OF SLACK SEASON NOODLES WITH A 120 YEAR OLD HISTORY

Du Hsiao Yueh is a familiar spot to noodle lovers, as I had tried their signature slack season noodles in Taipei long before my visit to Tainan. In the front of each restaurant, there is an old school noodle station to pay homage to the founder who made the noodles when fishing season was slow, and carried the buckets on a stick on his back. The danzai noodles 擔仔麵 are first topped with minced pork braised in a master stock, then shrimp head broth, touches of vinegar and garlic, and the single shrimp atop. (NT$50) Customers can opt for regular noodles or thin vermicelli noodles.

Every dish has a story, every restaurant has a history. I love that Du Hsiao Yueh has documented its family's restaurant 120+ year history so beautifully and tells its story at the front of the menu. The restaurants are run by fifth generation family members in Tainan and Taipei, and counting.

While I didn't have time (or stomach space) for it today, their menu is full of family friendly Taiwanese dishes. Some of my favorites are the fried oysters and the deep fried shrimp rolls.

Po Jen Store is a 60 year old chinese medicine shop, but last year Mr. Eric Chou and his wife Ms. Ting Su decided to also serve up herbal soups to customers from grandpa's recipes. The soups have different levels of herbal flavors (and health benefits), from clear broths to murky dark ones, which I suggested that they could add to the English menu for herbal soup newbies like me, or even rank them in order of intensity of Chinese medicine taste since he's not really able to explain the details in English. I asked for a "new to herbal soups" level and was happy with the clear broth chicken soup with four types of herbs with side of thin sesame oil rice noodles. (NT$120)

I'm the only one here because it's blistering hot and humid outside, but at the end of a long day the chicken soup is still healing. Taiwanese version of chicken noodle soup- somewhere you would definitely end up if you were feeling under the weather. The soup is scalding hot and the flavor is light, so don't be afraid of "herbal soup." They had a lot of customers who wanted to drink the herbal soups but didn't want to prepare it at home as soups are simmering for at least four hours, so many of their customers come after work. If I lived in Tainan, I'd definitely come back to try the pork rib with flowery knotweed or the bak ku teh, which is a popular pork rib soup in Singapore and Malaysia. There's also dessert soups, like the white woodear, which I've never been a huge fan of, but it's supposed to good for your respiratory system.

The family run shop is so unique- the long tables are black with gold engravings, which Mr. Chou said were repurposed from the walls when they decided to add tables and soups to their shop at night. The alley that it's located in is quiet and there aren't really other restaurants around it, but it's worth seeking out.

630PM EATING DUMPLINGS AND NOODLES WITH THE LOCALS

I didn't think I could eat one more bite after basically eating ALL DAY, but spicy chili wontons! The vinegar in the sauce was the perfect touch (NT$50).The most popular menu options at Fuzhou Noodle Shop are listed in photos above the counter, but they also have a English menu upon request. I ended up getting sesame paste noodles and wontons in chili oil, as well as some veggies. Fuzhou Noodle shop has been opened for 12 years and the three aunties are busy cooking, plating and dishing up orders after two large groups of kids fill up the tables outside. The space is semi-outside and a bit old school, but you can't beat having noodles AND wontons or fishball soup for NT$50-55 (or under US$2). There's also a counter full of fish cakes, tofu, braised snacks and instant noodles to add to your order. Service is quick and efficient and don't forget to find the condiment area if you want to add some spicy chili oil to your noodles.

7:30PM A TAXI AND TRAIN RIDE HOMEWhile I didn't have the energy to figure out and wait for the free bus was to go back to the HSR station as I had been walking all day to and from all my destinations, there is a free bus to station from certain hotels and bus stops. My taxi was NT$460 and about 30 minutes and my HSR ticket was NT$1350 each way. I get in the taxi at 7:30PM, get to the Tainan station at 8pm, with plenty of time to walk to the departure area for my 8:13PM train. I get back to Taipei by 10PM, and plot my next day trip adventures. I hope this post will help some of you with an itinerary for Tainan if you ever want to make a day trip. If you're ever visiting Taipei, I would strongly recommend taking a day to visit Tainan, even if it's just for the day. I will have to write up my eats from my other visits because there really is so much to explore there. Thanks again to Tainan City Government for the invitation to check out these restaurants, and thank you to the owners for the hospitality of all the restaurants I visited. WHERE TO EAT

This blog post is sponsored by Bureau of Economic Development, Tainan City Government (臺南市政府經濟發展局廣告).For more information about the English Friendly program in Tainan, check out: Tainan EZ Go! or Facebook Page.

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